Thursday, 6 June 2013

Best Dressed at the Cannes Film Festival 2013

Last week I wrote a piece for my university's weekly newspaper on top five best dressed at the Cannes Film Festival. I enjoyed writing the piece, but in hindsight I recognize that I was writing more for the paper's target audience of fellow students than of my own, slightly left-of-field, taste. You can read the original article here, but below I have compiled my very own top five from Cannes.

1)

French ingénue Marion Cotillard was all things modern in her pre- Spring/ Summer 2014 Dior dress at the Blood Ties premiere. Modern not only because the collection had debuted only four days previously, but also because the Rust & Bone actress wore Chopard jewels designed alongside Livia Firth's Green Carpet Challenge project, the eco-friendly enterprise that have been gaining ground and print columns in the last year or so. All highly commendable, but what really interests me is the Memphis- style colour blocking that complements and extends the elegant, fluid lines of her Dior dress. The 60's beehive looks great too, although it could possibly be given a modern update by allowing it a bit of movement and freedom from its structural confines; a few wisps of hair around the face would do it. Plus, Marion's make up is arguably rather heavy for her delicate Gallic features; a lighter hand with the bronzer and eyeshadow would have been ideal. 8.5/ 10

2)

When I grow up, I want to be as awesome as Kristen Scott Thomas. As one of my favourite actresses, francophile Kristen Scott Thomas never disappoints when it comes to film roles, talent or just plain exquisite coolness. Thirty-odd years in the French and English film industries has given her a presence that rises above the starlets who flock to Cannes, and here she trails fledgling pretenders to her throne in her glittering, sequinned wake. 9/10

3)

Marion Cotillard's second mention in this piece is indicative of two things. Firstly, that I have a huge girl-crush Marion Cotillard and all her frenchy-ness. Secondly, that these walking adverts for the Dior pre-Spring/ Summer '14 collection indicate that Raf Simons is well and truly hitting his stride as the house's frontman and successor to John Galliano. The first couple of seasons of his time at the helm were quietly respectable, wearable and interesting- somewhat loose complements to a brilliant designer such as Simons is. However, the pre- collection that debuted during Cannes depicts a star and a talent that is on the rise, as the designer finds his feet and his confidence at his new post. 9/10

3)

There's just something about a spangled gold trouser and jumper combo. However, that 'something', or 'je ne sais quoi' as they would say in Cannes, obviously has many determiners. The first is that this is a gold sparkly jumpsuit made by the Antwerp- educated French/ Colombian designer Haider Ackermann, and not something you'd pick up on a whim in Primark. The second is that it is worn by the icily cool Tilda Swinton, who with her bleached quiff and red lips is a definite contender for Kristen Scott Thomas' throne of coolness. Maybe they could share it. Simplicity is the key to this statement outfit: Tilda does not weigh herself down with a frou-frou clutch or an excesse of make up. Moreover, somehow she does not let the gold outfit outshine her- she owns it completely, with a smile that says that she does not take it, or herself, or the entire Cannes circus, too seriously. 10/ 10

5)

I realise that I have already claimed that when I grow up I want to be Kristen Scott Thomas. Well, I also want to be Tilda Swinton and Laeticia Casta in a weird amalgamation of squished up film stars and supermodels. Anyway. Talking about weird amalgamations, here Laeticia puts an outfit together so wrong that it's also completely right. A Dior dress that is cut a little too high for crotch comfort, and plastered with Barbie- pink flowers? Check. Golden wings as a totally unnecessary yet amazing cover under the Cannes sun? Check. What appears to be slightly dodgy sparkly gold platforms which match those wings? Check and check. The only thing troubling about this so-wrong-it's-right get up is Laeticia's slightly aging, brown make-up; I did a double take for all the wrong reasons when I looked up her age. This outfit, a breath of fresh couture air amidst the familiar parade of yawn-worthy gowns, needs a softer, rosier palette, which would let the supermodel's youth and undoubted beauty shine through. 7.5/ 10